Beading element for helmet or the like



Dec. 22, 1970 J. A. AILEO 3,548,409

BEADING ELEMENT FOR HELMET OR THE LIKE Original Filed Feb. 6, 1967 l NVENTOR.

United States Patent O 3,548,409 READING ELEMENT FOR HELMET OR THE LIK Jackson Anthony Aileo, 200 Park St., Carbondale, Pa. 18407 Continuation of application Ser. No. 614,246, Feb. 6,

1967, now Patent No. 3,447,162. This application Dec.

26, 1968, Ser. No. 786,977

The portion of the term of the patent subsequent to June 3, 1986, has been disclaimed Int. Cl. A4270 3/00 US. Cl. 23 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For use with a safety helmet including a rigid shell adapted to receive the wearers head with substantial space between the head and the shell, a peripheral beading having a channel-shaped portion for engaging the margin of the shell, and an inwardly projecting cylindrical portion which serves as a buffer to prevent contact between the shell and the head, and also partially blocks air flow through the space between the shell and the head.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of my copending application, Ser. No. 614,246, filed Feb. 6, 1967, for Safety Helmet With Improved Stabilizing and Size Adjusting Means, now US Pat. No. 3,447,162.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to heading elements, and in a specific sense to beading elements adapted for attachment to safety helmets, which are commonly used by workers in dangerous occupations where their heads may be subject to accidental or other impacts with external objects. Such occupations include construction workers, police, and various military occupations. Safety helmets are also commonly used in various sports involving similar hazards, such as motorcycle riding and auto racing.

Such a helmet commonly comprises a rigid shell adapted to receive the head of the wearer with substantial clearance. Attached to the inside of the shell is a rigging for supporting the shell on the wearers head while maintaining it spaced from the wearers head. Such a rigging commonly includes a headband extending generally horizontally around the wearers head, and one or more head straps extending over the crown of the wearers head. In addition to its supporting function, the rigging provides a cushion effect from external blows. In other words, it is constructed to absorb the energy of such external blows. In that connection, it is commonly constructed so as to prevent direct contact between the shell and the head, since such a contact would permit direct transmission of an external impact through the shell to the wearers head.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates the provision of a flexible beading having utility for attachment to the margin of a safety helmet to absorb part of the energy of external blows, particularly side blows. This beading has a channel section adapted to receive the edge of the helmet shell and a section of cylindrical cross section extending inwardly from the inner flange of the channel. In helmets having aheadband including front and rear headband elements attached to the helmet shell at the sides, this beading provides the primary energy-absorbing function against lateral blows. It also provides secondary energy-absorbing characteristics at the front and rear of the helmet. Furthermore, the beading partially blocks the air passage existing between the helmet shell and the wearers head and thus reduces the velocity of air currents passing through that region, which otherwise might be particularly troublesome in some cases, particularly with motorcycle riders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 2 show a helmet 20 having a rigid integral one-piece shell 21 of suitable material and having an opening at the lower side thereof for receiving the head of a wearer. The shell 21 has a forehead portion 21a and a rear portion 21b, and may have an ear-covering portion 210, as in the embodiment shown. Shell 21 has a continuous bottom edge 21d, shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1.

The interior surface of shell 21 is covered with a lining 26 which follows the contours of the shell. Lining 26 may be made of padding or a relatively stiff foamlike material which is energy-absorbent. Bonded to the interior of lining 26 are a pair of padded, generally elliptical earcups 28, to receive the wearers ears. Alternatively, earcups 28 may be bonded directly to the interior of shell 21 if an opening of corresponding size and shape is made in lining 26. Earcups 28 are positioned in the shell to have their long axis vertical when the helmet is being worn. Also disposed within shell 21 is a rigging 29 for supporting the shell on the wearers head while maintaining it spaced from the head.

A chinstrap assembly 30 is attached to ear-covering portions 210 of shell 21 by means of screws 29. As shown, this assembly may comprise a Woven fabric strap 31 dependent from one side of the helmet and a pair of metal rings 32 dependent from the opposite side. Strap 31 may be looped through rings 32 to fasten the chinstrap, to any degree of tightness desired. Padded elements 33 may be provided on the inside of the chinstrap assembly 30 to protect the face and chin of the wearer from abrasion by the fabric strap 31 and rings 32. As shown in FIG. 2, rings 32 may be attached to padding 33 directly.

An elongated beading element 35 is disposed along the bottom edge 21d of the shell. It may be disposed only along selected segments of the bottom edge 21d, or, preferably, and as shown, along the whole length thereof. A patch 40, shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, may be bonded to the ends of heading 35, so as to cover the juncture thereof. These two ends may be bonded together, or merely held in abutment by the patch.

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred cross section for beading 35. A channel portion 35a having two flanges 35b receives and is bonded to the bottom edge 21d of shell 21. To facilitate such engagement, it is preferable to have the width of channel 35a substantially equal to the thickness of shell 21. A web or neck portion 350 is integral with, and extends laterally from, the inside flange 35b. A cylindrical portion 35d is integrally connected to the neck 35c. Cylindrical portion 35a may be of any convenient cross section, although circular is preferred and illustrated; similarly, it may be solid or hollow, although the latter is also preferred. As shown in the preferred embodiment of FIG. 3, Web portion 350 is radially disposed with regard to cylindrical portion 35d, and is spaced from both the top and bottom edges of the flange 35b to which it is connected. Such a relationship allows flexible vertical movement of cylinder 35a in either direction with regard to channel 35a. Also, as shown, web portion 350 is a solid element but, if desired, it may be made with openings so that certain segments of cylinder 35d are not directly connected to channel 35a.

It is therefore seen that the whole beading 35 is one integral element; thus, it may be readily manufactured by means of an extrusion process. It should be made of a resilient material, such as natural or synthetic rubber, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, or the like. These features of flexibility and resiliency allow the beading to comfortably conform to the contours of the wearers head in those areas in which there is contact between the two, and to adjust to minor relative movements between the helmet and the head which occur during wearing. For example, looking at the cross section illustrated in FIG. 3, if the wearers head presses against the cylindrical portion 35d, the hollow circular shape of the latter would permit a resilient deflection into a somewhat eliptical cross section with the major axis being vertical.

The beading 35 serves to protect the head and face of the wearer from abrasions due to edge 21d, both in wearing the helmet and in putting it on or taking it off. It also is effective to absorb energy from external impacts which tend to reduce the spacing between the head and the shell. Furthermore, beading 35, and especially the cylindrical portion 35d, serves to partially occupy the peripheral space about the wearers head, between the head and the helmet edge 21d. Thus, it reduces the flow of air into and through the clearance space between the head and the helmet, which occurs when the helmet is worn by one moving at a substantial velocity, e.g., a motorcycle rider. This makes wearing the helmet more comfortable by reducing the noise level in the clearance space, and protecting the wearer from possible physiological harm due to the currents themselves. However, in the normal wearing of the helmet, the head of the wearer will not be in contact with beading 35 along all of its length; the open spaces thus provided do allow some air flow through the clearance space thus ventilating it and removing body heat emanating from the head region.

I claim:

1. A relatively flexible elongated beading element adapted for attachment to the margin of a relatively rigid structural member subject to impacts of adjacent bodies, to act as a buffer for said impacts, wherein the improvement comprises:

(a) a channel-shaped portion adapted to receive snugly the margin of the structural member, said channel portion having side flanges, said side flanges having flat inner walls respectively adapted to engage snugly and contiguously opposite substantially parallel surfaces of said structural member over substantially the entire vertical extent of said flanges;

(b) a portion of cylindrical cross section which is selfsustaining in shape but resiliently deformable upon impact of adjacent bodies; and

(c) a flexible web portion extending laterally from the outer face of one flange of said channel-shaped portion of said beading element, said web portion being spaced from both longitudinal edges of the flange, and integrally connecting said flange to the cylindrical portion, said web portion further being disposed radially of said cylindrical portion and supporting said cylindrical portion in laterally spaced relation to said one flange, said cylindrical portion being movable vertically in each of two opposite directions with respect to the channel-shaped portion by virtue of the flexibility of the web portion, said web portion having a vertical dimension substantially larger than the lateral dimension of said web portion between said one flange and said cylindrical portion, said channel-shaped portion, said cylindrical portion and said web portion being formed integrally of a resiliently compressible material.

2. A beading element as defined in claim 1, wherein said web portion is continuous throughout the length of the beading element.

3. A beading element as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylindrical portion is hollow.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,766,494 10/1956 Stremmel 49490X 2,805,419 9/1957 Finken 23 2,805,453 9/ 1957 Petronello et al 49-490X 2,898,648 8/1959 Bright 49-490 3,214,879 11/1965 Ellingson et al. 49488X 3,447,162 6/1969 Aileo 2-3 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,171,173 9/1958 France 23 1,435,878 3/1966 France 23 A. R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 

